Ofcom has published the Protection of Children Codes of Practice and guidance following the passing of the UK’s Online Safety Act in 2023.
Click here to read the Statement in full.
Securing a higher level of protection for children than for adults is a key objective of the Online Safety Act. Ofcom says its statement sets the foundations for creating a safer life online for children in the UK.
It builds upon the Codes it has already put in place to protect all users from illegal harms and its work to prevent children accessing pornography online.
In the coming months, Ofcom says it intends to rapidly build on these foundations by publishing proposals for additional measures to protect users from illegal harms and from content harmful to children.
Ofcom has now set out the key dates that service providers will need to be aware of to secure compliance with the new rules:
- The deadline for completing children’s access assessments was 16 April 2025. If you concluded that your service is likely to be accessed by children in the UK, you will need to take the following steps:
Risk assessments: all in-scope services likely to be accessed by children in the UK will be required to complete their children’s risk assessment by 24 July 2025. The steps that providers should take to conduct children’s risk assessments are set out in our Children’s Risk Assessment Guidance.
Codes of Practice: from 25 July, as long as the Codes complete the UK Parliamentary process, service providers will need to take the steps laid down in the Codes or use other effective measures to protect children. By the same date, all services which allow pornography must have highly effective age assurance in place to prevent UK children from accessing it.
